Automatic stop for phonographs



A. Roam ET AL. AUTOMMIC 8T0? FOR FHONOGRAPHS.

Feb. 13, 1923.,

"2 SHEETS swan 2.

I omemm FILED AUG. s. I919- WITNESSES W I M A MM w .v M. W n N I (4 n Patented l ltd, 1923.,

AGOSTINQ ROGATI AND LOUIS ARONNE, GF NEW' YORK, N. Y.

Annemarie sror non rrtonosnnrrrs.

Application filed August 18, 19 19;

a ToaZZ whom it may concern:

of the turntable of talking machine or phonograph when the en of a record is reached or at any other desired time. Among the, j cts of t inven ion to provid brake for c opera n with the turntab e t ph no r ph d bral jl tug; devices associated therewith to in t ate the gripping action thereof automat cally according to the position to which the tone arm of the machine has approachediin the a normal running operation of the machine. Another object of the invention is to provide'an automatic brake or stopping); device that .is composed of the smellest possible iui mher of parts and whichtwill operate with absolute precision and reliability, the

brake mechanism being not dependent upon the action of spr ngs or other parts that are liable to become out of order.

A further object of our invention is: to

i nprox ze the consti ruction of the tone arm.

tire rela base with specie-l t t t I LLOIL with the automatic brake m ch nism.

, foregoing andother objects in view the invention consistslin the arrangeand con hinat )T1 of parts hereinafter describedai claim d; and while the invenw tion is; not r st cted tothe exact detailsot construction disclosed or suggested herein, a st l e t e purpose o i l rates Pra tieal embodiment thereof reference is had to t e efe en e ha ac ers designate the same par the s vera v w and wh c W h e tone rm n esum to il sur 1 is Pla e if ur mp v t at wit th part ini iatin po ti and be niee tonei th lef or owa d the cen ie "turntable- I which the following :t'ull clear, and exact descrip reference to its co opera 1 ompanying d; wings, inwhieh like v eta shoe gii pretei'ahly Serial No. 318,200. .Renewed October 11, 1922. Serial No 593,365.

line l lofiFig. 3; and

Fig, 5 is a plan View of the tone arm base.

Referring now more specifically to the mechanism we show a phonograph having a turntable to support a disk record 11 in theusual manner and withjthe spiral groove oi? which the reproducer cooperates tending to swing the tone arm 13 toward the center 14. of the turntable as a result of the rotation of the turntable in the direction indicated all as is well understood. t Thelhrake comprises a base JIate 15 secured as by screws 16 rigidly to the deck 17 of the machine below the turntable and where it 1s largely inv sible or at least inconspicuous. The movable parts oi the brake are three in number only and comprise a hell crank '18 pivoted at 19 to the base plate beneath the turntable. The longer arm of the hell crank terminates in a handle 20 and the shorter arm of the hell crank has jointed connection at 21 with the shorter arm of a lever 22 mounted on a fixed pivot at 23 on a rearwardlyprojecting; end 24: of the base plate. The bell crank arms arranged at anacute angle to each other or just slightly less than 90 degrees so, that while the axis of the longer armcoincidcs with the radius of the turntable the position shown in Fig. 1, the axisof the shorter arm lies outward beyond the line joining the centers otthepivots 19 and 23. While the exact term ofthis hell crank is notcsseutial we find. that by arranging the two arms at an acute angle as indicatedthe jointedconnectio between the shorteret'in of the hell crank and the lever 22 will serve a limiting'step to prevent thelongrcr iirom swinging rearward beyond said radius.

The .tiflllffl main part oi the brake consists in the. term of a cylii'idricalrollcr fixed by 'nieans ofa vertical pin 26 to, the upper surface an arm 27 pivoted iat ilti to thelonger arm of the hell cranlc The pivot 28 is provided with a spring; or friction washer 29l-whose function is to hold the arm 27 against thev bell crank resistance.

' periphery 31 upon which the bell crank glides and whereby the bell crank is held for steady movement in a definite plane around its pivot 19and without unnecessary friction or The pivots 19, 9.1 and 23 are all relatively free or easy moving, when the arm 2? lies in or coincides with the aXis of the longer arm of the bell crank when the latter lies in the radius of the turntable. As shown in Fig. 1 the shoe 9.5 has its greatestclearance with respect to the turntable. It the arm 27 be moved around its pivot 28 in either direction from this position it will be carried toward or into contact with the periphery of the turntable Again, it the bell crank is swung around its pivot 19 the arm 27- due to the friction at the pivotQS will be carried with it and likewise brought toward or againstthe periphery of the turntable, although the approach of the shoe toward the ot the turntable under the latter circumstance will be more gradual than when the arm is swung directly around its own pivot 28. I

The rear tree end of the lever 22 extends into proximity to the base 39. ot the tone arm. Said tone arm base is an annular member having a flange 38 of substantially cylindrical 't'orm projected downward intothe opening ina collar 34 fixed as by means ot screws 34kto the deck ot the phoi'ual raph. 'lhe opposing cylindrical laces ol the flange 38 and collar 34: are provided with race\' .'a vs for a series ct anti-friction balls -35 spaced from one another by any suitable spacing means such coil springs 36. The base 32 has an external flange 32 overlapping the upper part of the collar and serving not only as a neat finish for the base, but as. a means to exclude dust or dirt from the bearings.

The halls are inserted into the raceways through registering notches or holes which are thereafter closed by a plug 37 loci-red to the bottom of. the base 32 by means of a screw or the like 88. The plug: 37 has a lip 39 projecting outward radially from the base and operating in an arc-shaped recess or notch 40 formed in the bottom ot the collar 34; whereby the rotation of the tone arm is limited. The tone arm is pivoted on coaxial pivot-s ll in the upper flange portion of the base 32 so as to provide for the vertical rocking movements of the tone arm which are necessary in the manipulation of the re- .producer in practice; The pivots arranged as shown insure however, that the base 32 will. rotate positively as a result of t swinging ol the tone arm in cithcr direction. Consequently when the needle carried by the reproduccr co-o 'ierates with the record. groove on the disk and the turntable rotatcs the disk the tone arm will be swung toward the left as shown in Fig. l and the tone arm base will be correspondingly rotated.

The base 32 carries a lug 4-2 adapted to co-operate with the rearwardly projiu'ting end of the lever 22 as the rcproducer ap preaches the end of the record groove. and this co-opeation serves to cause the bell crank to swing toward the right as indicated in Fig. 1 and the brake shoe to come into frictional contact with the periphery of the turntable. The instant this frictional contact between the brake shoe and the turntable takes place the turntable causes the shoe arm 27 to swing quickly around its pivot 28 and instantly lock the turntable trom rotation due to the grimiing or wedging action so set up between the shoe and the turntable. In other words whenever the brake shoe is swung from the normal spaced position so as to contact with the periphery oi" the turntable the rotation of the turntable will automatically cause the brake to act to stop it.

To determine the time of the automatic action of the brake in accordance with dill'crent sizes of records or records having dit- 'l erent spaces between the ends thereof and the center oil the turntable the procedure is as follows: Assuming that the brake is set and holding the turntable from ml'ation as in Fig. 3, the arm 27 will lie in a direction oblique to the radius of the turntable. The axis of the longer arm oi the bell crank may be parallel to that of the arm .17 or it may be different therefrom acording to a previous manual adjustment. Irrespective thcrotore of the position of the bell crank the oporator after placing a record upon the lurntable will carry the needle thereof to or adjacent lo the last coil ol' the record groove and while doing so with his right hand will grasp the handle 20 with his left hand and will swing the bell crank thereby to bring the rear end of the lever 22 against the lug 42. During this manipulation. of the bell crank the operator will hold the brake shoe by his thumb so as to maintain the contact thereot with the turntable. thereby prevent-- ing the premature starting of the motor. This simple holding of: the linger piece 30 by the thumb so as to maintain the holding contact or grip of the shoe upon the turntable is the only manipulation required of the brake shoe. After adjustment as above indicatcd the operator will. carry the reproducer out to the beginning of the record groove and apply it in the usual manner and will start the motor by a simple rearward swing of the bell crank handle 20. The friction at the joint 28 will cause the brake shoe lOO means that will tend to cause to be carried away from the turntable coincidentally with the movement of the bell crank. Withthe swinging of the bell crank toward the left as just stated the rear end of the lever 22 will swing toward the right and to a multiplied distance due to the disparity in lengths of the two arms of the lever 22. Thus the point or rear end of the lever will be moved far enough to the right so that the lug 42 while moving in the playing direction with the tone arm will engage the lever and cause it to move toward the left for a material length of time before the brake will be set, but by the time the lug reaches the position indicated in Fig. 3 which corresponds to the end of the record groove the brake shoe will have been carried into contact with the turntable by virtue of the adjustment previously given thereto, Consequently the brake will act automatically at a precise predetermined time in accordance with the most simple kind of manual adjustment. The brake device is provided with no springs nor any other a snapping or jerking movement of the brake shoe at any time. The brake therefore acts quietly as well as promptly and can never fail to operate or get out of order.

We claim:

1. Inan automatic stop, the combination of two levers mounted to oscillate around fixed pivots and jointed together whereby the oscillation of either lever in either direction will cause a corresponding oscillation of the other lever in the other direction, a friction brake shoe and an arm carrying said shoe, said arm being pivoted to an arm of one of the first mentioned levers remote from the jointed connection between such lever and the other lever, the connection be tween the shoe arm and the lever carrying it being such that the arm may be moved i11 dependently of the lever in the setting of the brake, and the armwill be carried with the lever automatically with the releasing of the brake. i

2. In an automatic stop for phonographs, the combination with a tone arm and the turntable of the phonagraph, of a lug extending from the tone arm, a fixed support arranged adjacent the periphery of the turn table, a bell crank lever pivoted to said fixed support in such a manner that the free end of one of the arms of the bell crank lever extend substantially radially of the turntable and the other extends toward said stop, an actuating lever pivoted between its ends onto said support, said lever being of such a length as to extend into the path of movement of said stop and to overlap the second mentioned arm of the bell crank lever, said overlapping portion being provided with a slot, a pin extending through said slot into the bell crank lever, a swinging member pivotally mounted on said bell crank lever, and a brake member carried by said swinging member, said brake member being positioned to engage the periphery of said turntable when said stop has moved the actuating lever and the second mentioned arm of the bell crank lever into an alinement.

3. In an automatic stop for phonographs a fixed plate formed with a pressed up friction member, a bell crank lever pivotally mounted on said fixed plate, a brake swingingly positioned on one of the arms of said bell crank lever, a pin extending from the second arm of the bell crank lever, a lever pivoted between its ends to said plate and arranged so that one end will overlap the second arm of said bell crank lever, said end having a slot for receiving said pin, and a stop actuated by the tone arm of the phonograph for shifting said lever.

AGOSTINO ROGATI. LOUIS ARONNE. 

